Canadian home prices post smallest gain since January

Garry Marr, Financial Post · Oct. 17, 2011

Prices for existing homes continued to moderate with September year over year gains the smallest they have been since January, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Sales continued to rise up 2.7% in September from August but the Ottawa-based group, which represents about 100 boards across the country, left little doubt about the state of the market.

"The national housing market tightened in September from the month before, but remains firmly entrenched in balanced territory," the group said in a release.

The average price of a home sold across the country in September was $352,581, a 6.5% jump from a year earlier. Sales for the first nine

months of the year are now 1.2% ahead of last year's pace boosted by an 11% gain in September from a year earlier.

Toronto led a number of other major markets boosting September sales It was the highest level for national sales since the government tightened mortgage rules again earlier this year.

“The Canadian housing market remains a bright spot against a backdrop of mixed headline news about the global economy,” said Gary Morse, CREA president. “Low mortgage rates continue to draw buyers to the housing market, while recently tightened mortgage regulations are working as intended."

CREA said new listings nationally have changed very little over the last two months but that the figure was affected by an averaging out of markets.

New listings rose in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Oakville and Vancouver but were offset by fewer new listings in markets like Edmonton and

the Fraser Valley.

The group says the nationally the sales-to-new listings ratio was 52.8% in September, up from 51.6% in August, and still considered a

balanced market. CREA says almost two-thirds of Canadian markets have a sales-to-new listings ratio of 40% to 60% which is considered

balanced.

The number of months of inventory, which is based on how long it would take to sell current listings based on the current sales pace, was

6.1 months in September. It was 6.2 months in August.

Gregory Klump, chief economist for CREA, noted housing has remained stable in face of market volatility which has contributed to Canadian confidence in the economy.

“Interest rates are expected to remain low for longer, and evidence suggests that recent changes to mortgage regulations are preventing

the kind of excesses they were designed to avert. Both of these developments are good news for the housing market,” said Mr. Klump.